It's a truism of the new economy: While cell-phones, email, and the Web have changed the way we do business, they have not done away with the need for face-to-face communication. Technology matters -- but people matter more than ever. After all, not all networks are digital.

That's also a founding principle of the Company of Friends, the FC readers' network. And it was a guiding principle behind Community@Work, the first-ever gathering of CoF coordinators from around the world. In August, CoF leaders joined forces with the FC live-events team to hold a weekend-long meeting in Denver. More than 75 coordinators came together to share ideas, tools, and best practices.

So what, in particular, do face-to-face meetings make possible that other forms of communication fail to support? While preparing for Community@Work, we put that question to a pair of Denver-bound CoF coordinators.

Chris Carosella (carosella@workingmind.com), 43, is president of the Working Mind Co. and coordinator of the St. Louis cell.

'In our monthly meetings, we bring in people and learn lessons from them that we can immediately take back to our workplaces. We often have lively debates, but we focus on using our discussions to generate practical ideas. Coming together to discuss a topic is most helpful when we're not all from the same industry or the same background. The diversity of perspectives in our group leads to a diversity of learning.'

Dan Limbach (dan@schmoozemonger.com), 36, is VP of marketing and product manager at Echo 3 New Media Inc., and coordinator of the Chicago cell.

'When you bring people together, there is always a passionate exchange of ideas, and you always find new synergies. And out of those synergies, micro-organizations are often born. For example, our cell has given life to the Consultants' Guild, a group that provides cell members and consultants in the Chicago area with a space for community and collaboration. Another advantage of face-to-face meetings is that they offer an element of surprise that can't be matched by an online dialogue. The personal connections that members make with one another in our meetings constitutes 98% of the organization's value.'

To learn more about Community@Work and other FC:live events, visit the Web
(www.fastcompany.com/live).